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India’s strong corporate culture combined with a steadier rate of manufacturing growth has led Aberdeen Asset Management’s veteran head of equities Hugh Young (pictured) to consider the country a better long-term investment bet than China.

Young, who manages the £1.2 billion Aberdeen Asia Pacific fund , has long held the view that Indian companies are better positioned than Chinese but now has additional concerns regarding the sustainability of China’s rapidly expanding manufacturing operations.

He said: ‘The biggest issue with the Chinese is that they have gone gung ho into manufacturing with no control and wages have soared over the last 10 years.

'It is not dissimilar to what we saw 10 years ago in the region with the Asian crisis.’

The manager added that the better comparative quality of Indian companies when compared with Chinese lead him to see India as a more attractive bet over the long term.

Young said Indian companies were more aligned to the interest of their shareholders than their Chinese counterparts, many of which he said owe their allegiance to whichever part of the government that owns them.

He estimates both regions could see another 20% of falls in the next 12 to 18 months before a recovery is seen but predicts that India will come out better placed than its neighbour.